The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-04-04

The Landlord and His Dag Bog"
'sDIr. Brown"
Now we rattle off at terrific pace of at
least fifteen miles an hour, for this train L
the night express to Christiania, and IL
two hours we reach our stopping place
Storen, where we are to leave the train ang
take carrioles. The engine gives a single
sharp, little toot why is it that all trans
atlantic locomotives have such poor voices
and slowly pulls its load away. We cast q
glance at our surroundings. The station is
a pretty wooden building, with flowers
about it, and not very different from some
of the newer and more tasteful railroad sta
tons in New England. At little distance
is the hotel, small, but very neat inn. Al
a word from us a couple of boys are on
hand TO carry up the single small trunk
which we have been advised to take with
us. The shawl strap, bag and knapsack we
bear ourselves.
One look at the green, moist sides of the
mountains on either hand; at the blue sky
overhead, bright with the last rays of the
setting sun; at the picturesque but small
and backward fields of ripening grain, and
at the neat home surroundings in front OF
US, makes US cry out: "Oh, if all the places
we come to are to be as pretty as this won't
it be perfectly and the sentence is cut
short by the opening Of the door. 1t is the
wife of the proprietor who comes. He, by
the way, is also the station master of the
manifestation in Norway always meaning
a post station-and, with a pleasant smile,
she invites us in. We try, but in vain, to
explain our wants in English. The hostess
understands us not ''Hurrah'' we cry,
sat last we have come to place where
English is not spoken" But no, here
comes her husband, who addresses us in orr
native tongue.
Perhaps the reader would like to know
what language is spoken commonly in
Norway and the answer might well be
English the British traveller has so
EaErvaded this northern land that the in
habitants thereof have been compelled, al
most in self defense, TO learn the language
of the incoming nation. For no true son of
Albion ever, in any country, speaks any
language but his own good English. OF
course the proper tongue of Norway is Nor
wegian, an offshoot of Danish and a descend
ant of the old Morse. But nglish is taught
in the public schools, and except in the re-
mote country districts, it is possible to
travel in comfort without knowing word
of Norwegian In fact, it is difficult to
learn the native tongue only, because all the
educated people one meets, and almost every
Norwegian is well educated, know enough
English to wish practice speaking it with
travellers.
After we have explained our wishes to the
complasant landlord, we are shown to the
neateSt of rooms, with clean, bare wooden
floors carpets are scarcely known and still
more rarely seem, and "Aftenmad'' is soon
announced. 1t is now $50, yet no candles
are needed. In the autumn and winter, how
ever, darkness comes much earlier, and the
nights are long But what are we offered
at this, our first country supper the supper
II
at every post station9 Well, rye bread of
two kinds but no ''fem Tor white) brod, -
butter and milk in quantity unlimited, and
tea or coffee. There are sundry small
dishes before us, each containing some one
Of the numerous varieties of cheese, or mys-
tic number, three slices of ham or smoked
salmon, or three slices of sausage,
or three slices of another kind of
sausage, or three radishes. The number of
these small dishes is amazing. The nervous
Astle English lady sitting opposite, drawls
out: "Oh, do you like these little dishes?
Oh, I think they are beastly, don't you?
They get one so muddled, yo1 know" and
we sympatfize with her, for we, too, are
discontinued with these unsatisfying ''mor.
ceaux." A bottle of Worcestershire sauce
finds congenial company in neighboring
jar Of English mixed pickles-with the ac-
cent on the mixed But these are simply
appetizers or reIishes; the substantials are
yet to come. Meat, real Yankee "meat,'
of no particular brand or variety, served
piping hot, with a delicious brown gravy
poured in over the thick slices, is now
brought in on a covered dish with compan-
ion in the shape of similar dish of boiled
potatoes
We fall to, needless of whether the
''meat" be beef, mutton, or venison, for
every traveller in Norway is blessed or cursed,
as the individual case may be, with an in
satiable appetite. Next comes that accom-
paniment of all Norwegian breakfasts and
suppers, the patient setting hen, whose por-
celain nest is always full of delicious fresh
eggs. Where the eggs come from is a mys-
terry, for hens are scarce, with the exception
of this china table companion of ours; but
though the fowls are rarely to be seen, there
is no scarcity Of eggs. This unsolved riddle
must be left to some future explorer to I'M
fold and explain. This is our supper, and
the breakfast is to be much like it, with
perhaps, slight diminution in the num-
Der of cheeSes. But it is high time to retire
if an early start is to be made in the morn
ing. The landlord comes with the so-called
dag bog day book in his hands and we
learn what are the necessary preliminaries to
vehicles at Norwegian posting
station. First the name is to be inscribed
destination and the number of horses
wanted In some of the older registers
space is left where complaints Or words of
commentator may be written. Here are
found the names of all who have passed over
the road for the last two years or more
Especially prominent is the name of
John Brown, London, England, - to which
IS aided occasionally, "On foot, !" or "On
foot with knapsack,'' written in heavy
black characters. This name is in almost
every dag bog we see. We finally meet
MIR. Brown himself He is a short man, /
with a brown beard, and, like all English |
men, Is smoking briarWood pipe. He is
as familiar in manner as he is loud in
speech, and wears huge hobnailed shoes. He |
is never weary of hearing himself talk, and,
in fine, is what Frenchmen call ''lefacheux''
lin plain English, a bore. 1t may be that
he is 8 tradesman off for two or three weeks
vacation. He always succeeds in making
himself disagreeable wherever he may be,
for he wishes people to understand that he is
an Englshman and from London, England.
When he reaches southern Norway, where
English people are in greater numbers, he
subsidies lit e. and, fearful of seeing some
one who knows him, decides that it is wiser
to drop London and register himself
,t,1,,, l,SS